COVID-19: What about Africa?

INTRODUCTION

With the second wave of COVID-19 hitting hard in some countries in Africa, the prospect of a vaccination program is still not on the horizon.

WRITTEN BY

SHARE THE WORD

PUBLISHED ON

2020 will long be remembered in the annals of history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As that year drew to a close, the COVID-19 vaccine made its debut in several countries. The question we need to ask, however, is whether the disease will wane as quickly as it spread if this vaccine is not made available to everyone. Will countries that have the “bargaining power” to obtain the vaccine quickly be adversely affected? Should poorer countries not have equal access to the vaccine?

In an interview with Vatican News, Father Charles Chilufya, SJ shed some light on the current situation in Africa, specifically in Kenya, regarding COVID-19. Father Chilufya is the Coordinator of the Africa Task Force of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission, and the Director of the Justice and Ecology Office of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM).

“Many countries in Africa now are experiencing the second wave of the virus,” Father Chilufya told Vatican News. “A number of countries have reported a new surge” in the past month. What is new about this second wave is that the virus “has now started spreading to high-density areas.” This has become worrisome to government officials in Kenya and other countries because housing is not good in these areas, Father Chilufya tells us.

This information was confirmed by John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centre of Disease Control and Prevention in a virtual news conference. “We are very close,” he said, “to where we were at the peak of the pandemic in July and August.” He predicted that in the coming months, the numbers of coronavirus cases would exceed those recorded in July and August last year.

Statistics
Africa is home to approximately 17% of the world’s population. As of January 31, Johns Hopkins University reported 3,534,569 cases of coronavirus in Africa and 89,090 deaths, representing 3.31% and 3.58% respectively of worldwide cases and deaths.

Whether this data is accurate or not is difficult to ascertain since the World Health Organization has reported that, compared to other areas in the world, testing for the coronavirus in Africa is low. Records show that 70% of the tests conducted originated in 10 of Africa’s 54 countries. South Africa leads the list in coronavirus cases in Africa, with 1,450,000 reported cases and approximately 43, 951 deaths.

Effects On The Economy
Other consequences caused by the pandemic faced by the populations in Africa are manifold. As in other countries, “many governments imposed lockdown measures” at the height of the first wave of the virus. Naturally, this put a stop to normal commercial activity and the movement of people, Father Chilufya explains. This “curbed the flow of income to many people all across Africa,” he says. In this case, the direct consequence for many people was the inability to “put food on the table.”

Already back in May last year, the International Monetary Fund predicted that Africa’s economy would contract by 1.5% this year. In numeric terms, this represents a loss of about 200 billion USD (approximately 825 million Euros). What should have been a year in which Africa was on target for an approximate 3.2% growth in GDP, some estimate that Africa’s GDP will instead fall by approximately 1%.

As restrictions were eased, Father Chilufya says there was a “slow comeback to ‘business as usual,’ ” but not a pre-COVID ‘business as usual.’ “There are still limitations,” Father says, “in terms of people getting their income and getting their day to day needs.”

Father Chilufya tells us that schools have reopened in some countries, but this is not the case in many others. In some countries, such as Kenya, only “exam classes have been reopened since October.” A general and gradual reopening of schools is hoped to take place, he says. Attempts to provide online learning “catered to a very, very few students–less than 10%,” he says, and it was “impossible for students in rural areas. There are other consequences”, Father Chilufya tells us, “as children stay longer at home doing nothing.”

Gender-Based Violence
Economic hardship has not only affected the ability to put food on the table. School closures have not only affected learning, and lockdown measures did not only result in keeping people safe from contagion. All these realities have contributed to a rise in sexual and gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy. “This is a worry for many, and it’s real! And it is something that is problematic at the moment.”

A report published in October 2020 by the International Rescue Committee states that 73% of the 850 refugee and internally displaced women interviewed report an increase in domestic violence. The same report cites a 51% increase in sexual violence and 32% had observed an increase in early and forced marriages.

The lockdown and school closures forced women and girls to remain in places where their abusers had access to them. Economic hardship in families led some to sell the women and girls in their family for sex or to arrange premature marriages.

Access To Healthcare
As in the past, Africa has faced difficulties in responding adequately to the coronavirus crisis. “Clearly, poor countries like those in Africa,” Father Chilufya explains, “especially the most densely populated ones like Nigeria, Kenya, and others, lack medical infrastructure and resources.” They are always “left vulnerable” and at the “mercy of wealthier states,” he says. “And this is not the first time.”

“Access to health facilities is a longstanding battle being fought on the African continent in particular. The issue, therefore, is in fact not only about access to drugs, but also access to general health facilities.”

Father Chilufya followed up this statement with two specific examples:

* Kenya: the recent strike of medical personnel in Kenya “complaining of insufficient protection as they watched some of their colleagues succumb to COVID-19”. Other reports cited doctors in Kenya describing their jobs as “suicidal,” while others who contracted COVID-19 cannot afford the same care they have been providing to other COVID-19 patients.

* Liberia: during the Ebola outbreak (2014-2015), medical workers “used plastic bags instead of medical gloves to protect themselves. And several deaths were reported among health workers in government-run health care centers.”

“Failures like these…not only violate health rights of patients, but also put health workers and their family at risk.”  Published in Vatican News

Share Your Thoughts

All comments are moderated

From The Same Issue

The articles and content about this issue

From The Same Issue

The articles and content about this issue

From This Topic

The articles and content about this topic

From This Topic

The articles and content about this topic

Explore Other Topics

Browse other coverage

Explore Other Topics

Browse other coverage

WM SPECIAL

Presents, discusses and draws readers to reflect on issues of outmost relevance to the world today.


FRONTIERS

Very often, mission is carried out in frontier situations around the world. Those who embrace these situations have much to share.


UNITY IN DIVERSITY

Writer Ilsa Reyes will be exploring the richness of Pope Francis’s latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti with a view of helping our readers to get a grasp of the this beautiful papal document.


FRONTLINE

Puts to the front committed and inspiring people around the world who embrace humanitarian and religious causes with altruism and passion.


IN FOCUS

Focus on a given theme of interest touching upon social, economic and religious issues.


FAITH@50

As the Philippines prepares to celebrate 500 years of the arrival of Christianity. Fr. James Kroeger leads us in this series into a discovery journey of the landmark events in the history of faith in the Philippine archipelago.


INSIGHT

Aims to nurture and inspire our hearts and minds while pondering upon timely themes.


FILIPINO FOCUS

The large archipelago of the Philippines, in its richness of peoples and cultures, offers varied and challenging situations for mission.


FOLLOW ME

Reflections and vocation stories that shape up the lives of young people.


MISSION IS FUN

As humor and goodness of heart are qualities of Christian and missionary life, the new column “Mission is fun” will be publishing some anecdotes and stories that have happened in a missionary context to lighten up the spirits and trigger a smile in our faces.


LIVING COMMUNION

To help readers of World Mission live this year dedicated to Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous Peoples, Tita Puangco, writer and lecturer, shares in this section insights on the spirituality of communion.


WINDS OF THE SPIRIT

A historic view of the Catholic movements that emerged from the grassroots as an inspiration by the Holy Spirit.


BRIDGE BUILDERS

On the Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous Peoples, radio host and communicator Ilsa Reyes, in her monthly column, encourages Christians and people of good will to be one with their fellow people of other sects, religions and tribes.


INTERVIEW

Questions to a personality of the Church or secular world on matters of interest that touch upon the lives of people.


WORLD TOUCH

News from the Church, the missionary world and environment that inform and form the consciences.


CARE OF THE EARTH

A feature on environmental issues that are affecting the whole world with the view of raising awareness and prompting action.


EDITORIAL

The editor gives his personal take on a given topic related to the life of the Church, the society or the world.


YOUNG HEART

A monthly column on themes touching the lives of young people in the Year of the Youth in the Philippines by radio host and communicator I lsa Reyes.


SCROLL

A missionary living in the Chinese world shares his life-experiences made up of challenges and joyous encounters with common people.


EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

Life stories of people who deserve to be known for who they were, what they did and what they stood for in their journey on earth.


ONE BY ONE

Stories of people whom a missionary met in his life and who were touched by Jesus in mysterious ways.


INCREASE OUR FAITH

Critical reflection from a Christian perspective on current issues.


SPECIAL MOMENTS

Comboni missionary Fr. Lorenzo Carraro makes a journey through history pinpointing landmark events that changed the course of humanity.


PROFILE

A biographical sketch of a public person, known for his/her influence in the society and in the Church, showing an exemplary commitment to the service of others.


WM REPORTS

Gives fresh, truthful, and comprehensive information on issues that are of concern to all.


LIFE'S ESSENTIALS

A column aimed at helping the readers live their Christian mission by focusing on what is essential in life and what it entails.


ASIAN FOCUS

Peoples, events, religion, culture and the society of Asia in focus.


THE SEARCHER'S PATH

The human heart always searches for greatness in God’s eyes, treading the path to the fullness of life - no matter what it takes.


INDIAN FOCUS

The subcontinent of India with its richness and variety of cultures and religions is given center stage.


AFRICAN FOCUS

The African continent in focus where Christianity is growing the fastest in the world.


JOURNEY MOMENTS

Well-known writer and public speaker, Fr. Jerry Orbos, accompanies our journey of life and faith with moments of wit and inspiration based on the biblical and human wisdom.


IGNATIUS STEPS

On the year dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyala, Fr. Lorenzo Carraro walks us through the main themes of the Ignatian spirituality.


THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS

Fr. John Taneburgo helps us to meditate every month on each of the Seven Last Words that Jesus uttered from the cross.


INSIDE THE HOLY BOOK

In this section, Fr. Lorenzo delves into the secrets and depths of the Sacred Scriptures opening for us the treasures of the Sacred Book so that the reader may delight in the knowledge of the Word of God.


CONVERSATIONS

Reflections about the synodal journey on a conversational and informal style to trigger reflection and sharing about the synodal path the Church has embarked upon.

Shopping Cart